A nub mark does not vanish under one gritty pass. Sand it hard with a coarse stick and you trade the nub for a shiny flat spot and a halo of scratches that show up the instant you prime. A nub is walked out, stepped down through a ladder of grits that starts coarse enough to level the stub and ends fine enough that the surface disappears. The tools that make that easy are foam-backed sanding sticks and a few files, and the good ones are cheap. Having catalogued how these finishing tools perform on plastic, here is what to buy and the grit progression that actually works.
Why foam-backed sanding sticks
For nub removal on curved armor, a rigid piece of sandpaper is the wrong tool, it flattens the curve. Foam-backed sticks are the right one.
- The foam conforms to the part's curvature, so you sand the nub level with the surface instead of grinding a flat facet into it.
- They come in a graded ladder of grits so you can step down cleanly from leveling to polishing.
- They are washable and reusable, which makes the good sets a genuine bargain over loose paper.
Rigid files still have a place, flat surfaces, seam lines, and sharp edges where you want a hard, straight backing, but the everyday nub work belongs to foam sticks.
The picks
1. God Hand Kamiyasu foam sanding sticks, best overall
Around $12-15 for the assortment, the God Hand Kamiyasu sticks are the benchmark for a reason: thin, flexible foam backing that hugs curves, consistent grit, and an assortment that spans the whole ladder from around 400 up to 6000. The high grits polish plastic back to a smooth, even sheen that takes primer flawlessly, and the thin profile gets into tight recesses other sticks cannot. If you buy one sanding product, buy this assortment, it covers leveling, shaping, and polishing in one pack. Our God Hand Kamiyasu review breaks down which grits you reach for most. Check the Kamiyasu price on Amazon
2. DSPIAE hobby tool set, best set with files
Around $60, the DSPIAE hobby tool set is the pick when you want files and hard backers alongside sticks in one case. Files handle the flat and edged work foam sticks are bad at, seam lines down a fuselage, straight bevels, weapon edges, and having them in a coordinated kit means you are not buying finishing tools piecemeal. Buy it if you are outfitting a bench from scratch and want the sanding, cutting, and detailing tools together. Check the DSPIAE tool set price on Amazon
The grit ladder that actually works
The whole point of a sanding assortment is to use the ladder, not to attack everything with one grit.
- 400-600 to level. Knock the nub down flush with the surface. This is the only coarse step, and you stop the instant the nub is level.
- 800-1000 to shape. Erase the coarse scratches from step one and blend the spot into the surrounding surface.
- 2000+ to polish (only if you want it). For bare, unpainted plastic or a gloss finish, keep stepping up to 4000-6000 until the spot is invisible.
The key rule about primer: paint and primer hide fine scratches but reveal coarse ones, so if you are going to prime and paint, you can stop around 800-1000; if the plastic stays bare, polish all the way up. Wet-sanding the higher grits with a drop of water keeps the surface from clogging and cuts finer.
A quick way to check your work: a thin coat of gray primer or surfacer is the ultimate scratch detector, throwing every remaining nub and coarse scratch into relief under a single even color that raw plastic's sheen hides. Prime, inspect under good raking light, spot-sand only what shows, and reprime. That short loop is what separates a genuinely clean build from one where the nubs seem to reappear the moment paint goes on, and it is far faster than trying to catch every mark on bare, shiny styrene.
The cut that saves you sanding
The best way to sand less is to cut better. A clean two-stage cut with a sharp single-blade nipper leaves a nub so small the ladder starts and ends in minutes, while a crushed, whitened gate can mean grinding through stress-whitened plastic that reaches below the surface. The God Hand SPN-120 around $85 exists precisely to leave almost nothing to sand; see the cutting side of this in best nippers for Gunpla and the full technique in how to remove nub marks. To see how the gate, nub, and surface relate before you cut, the sprue tree on the bench shows it in 3D.
The verdict
Buy the God Hand Kamiyasu assortment around $12-15, it is the best single sanding purchase in the hobby and covers the whole grit ladder from leveling to polish. Add the DSPIAE tool set if you want files and a coordinated bench from the start. Then actually walk the ladder, 400-600 to level, 800-1000 to blend, 2000-6000 to polish only if the plastic stays bare, and remember that a cleaner cut is what makes the sanding fast. Compare the rest of the finishing kit on our best-of hub.
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Questions builders ask
What grit do I need to remove Gunpla nubs?
Use a ladder, not a single grit. Start around 400-600 to level the nub flush with the surface, step to 800-1000 to erase those scratches and blend the spot in, and if the plastic will stay bare or glossy, keep going to 2000-6000 to polish it invisible. If you are priming and painting, you can stop around 800-1000 because primer hides fine scratches. Skipping the finer steps is what leaves a visible dull patch.
Are foam sanding sticks better than sandpaper for Gunpla?
For nub removal on curved parts, yes. Foam-backed sticks flex to follow the curvature of armor so you sand the nub level with the surface instead of grinding a flat facet into it, which is exactly what rigid sandpaper tends to do. Foam sticks also come in graded grit assortments and are washable and reusable. Rigid files and sanding paper still win on flat surfaces, seam lines, and sharp edges where you want a hard backing.
Do you sand nubs before or after painting?
Sand nubs before priming and painting. The goal is a smooth surface for paint to sit on, and any nub or coarse scratch will show through primer, so all nub removal and smoothing happens on bare plastic first. If you are leaving the plastic unpainted, polish the spot all the way up the grit ladder so it blends with the surrounding sheen. Between paint coats you may lightly wet-sand with very fine grit, but the nub work comes first.
Why does my sanded spot show up after priming?
Because the scratches were too coarse or the spot got flattened. Primer reveals coarse sanding scratches and any flat facet you ground into a curved surface, so a nub sanded with only a rough grit will show as a dull or misshapen patch. Fix it by stepping up through finer grits, 800 then 1000, to erase the coarse scratches, and by using a foam stick that follows the curve so you do not flatten it. Starting with a cleaner cut leaves less to sand in the first place.
